


Warmth of the Glimpses

by freckledboiyamaguchi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Armin is A Clairvoyant, Eren is a royal guard, F/M, Fluff, Jean Kirstein is A King, M/M, Mikasa is a royal guard, eremika if you squint, future telling, jean is lowkey a softie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25538347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledboiyamaguchi/pseuds/freckledboiyamaguchi
Summary: He looks immaculate in the eyes of another. His bright blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight. His steps are graceful as he walks against the wooden floors of the sacred castle. It’s a shame he’s never known what he looked like. But it’s not as if he’s been curious about it. Outer appearances are trivial. Arlerts are raised to know the future. They’re raised to help the current King be prepared for an impending danger to the throne or to the kingdom.Or,Armin is a clairvoyant who helps King Jean Kirstein prepare for any danger in his kingdom's future. But the King seems to be more worried about something else.
Relationships: Armin Arlert & Jean Kirstein, Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Warmth of the Glimpses

Armin scratches his face from beneath the white see through veil. The fabric makes his skin itch and he’s sure there’s a red spot somewhere on his left cheek by now. Although, he’s not sure. There’s not a mirror around for him to look. There’s never a mirror around this place. No glass clear enough for him to know what he looks like. 

When he tries to prick the skin using his nails, he gets his hand slapped away. He winces and looks up to see Mikasa. She’s dressed for the occasion as well. Well, dressed in her red heavy royal guard uniform that is. 

“You’ll hurt yourself,” she says softly. 

“It’s time,” Eren comes in, dressed in the same red heavy royal guard uniform. Mikasa offers her hand and Armin reluctantly takes it. He stands up and feels the smooth fabric of his white gown flow in time with his steps. 

He looks immaculate in the eyes of another. His bright blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight. His steps are graceful as he walks against the wooden floors of the sacred castle. It’s a shame he’s never known what he looked like. But it’s not as if he’s been curious about it. Outer appearances are trivial. Arlerts are raised to know the future. They’re raised to help the current King be prepared for an impending danger to the throne or to the kingdom. 

And he’s here today to do exactly that. 

They arrive at the room where the moon would shine it’s light directly at a given time. Eren gives the signal to open the sliding wooden doors. A man sits in the middle of the room, facing a window where the moon will soon cast it’s lights towards. His silhouette makes Eren’s expression twist in disgust. Mikasa’s expression is indifferent. 

Armin remembers all the stories Eren had told him about that young man, King Jean Kirstein. 

A young King who was entrusted the role of his deceased father. He was nothing but a demanding bastard that gave all royal guards hell, Eren’s words. Armin had developed quite a prejudice against the former prince. It’s fueled more when Mikasa never says a word against Eren’s rantings. 

But there’s no use for prejudice now. No matter what Eren feels or what Armin thinks, this young man is now Shiganshina’s King. Young as he may be, he’s got a kingdom to protect and lives to sustain. And it’s Armin’s job to make sure he’s prepared for anything that’s about to take any of those from him. 

Armin settles in the seat in front of the King. His head is bowed and his veil stretches down towards the small table separating him and his royal highness. The man makes no move to acknowledge his presence. A rude thought enters Armin’s mind. Nevertheless, he settles his hands on top of the table with his palms up. 

“May I?” he says in a hushed tone. Armin dares to look at him and finds the boy staring at him. His eyes are wide and lips are parted in a surprised, ‘o’. “King Jean?”

“S-sorry,” the King looks away and swallows. “I’m not entirely sure what we’re supposed to do here?”

Armin blinks before answering, “We’re here to read your future, my King. In order to have you prepare for any danger you may encounter,”

His Highness had looked at him while he spoke. There’s an intensity to his gaze that makes Armin think he does look like a man who can be in control. In the back of his mind, he wonders if this is the same bastard that Eren complains about.

“How?”

“I’m a descendant of the Arlerts,” he says this with practiced manner. “We have the ability to foresee bits and pieces of a future of the person we hold. We’ve sworn to use this in order to help the kingdom,”

King Jean nods in understanding. Part of the moonlight has hit the left side of his face. His eyes glow in a way that captures Armin’s breath. The clairvoyant shakes the thought away. His mind must be clear in order for him to read the King’s future. Having himself pulled by his Highness’ features can cloud his vision. 

Armin lays his hands open by the table again. “May I take your hand?”

There’s hesitation in the way Jean places his hands on top of Armin’s open palm. The clairvoyant can feel a slight tremble in his large hands. They’re rough, a contrast to the blonde’s soft ones. 

Little by little, the moon casts its lights on Jean’s face. Little by little, Armin sees parts of his future. 

The people would have doubts against the new King.

His council would be divided. 

But all are solved within a few years of time. 

There was no foreseeable danger.

No threats against the throne.

No threats against the people. 

  
  


Armin opens his eyes and loosens his grip on the King’s hands. He’s read his future and it’s safe to say, he will be alright. The kingdom will be alright. And yet, the hands are still holding on to him. 

The clairvoyant spares him a look and finds the King spaced out with his eyes focused on their intertwined hands. 

“Your Majesty?”

“Arlert,” he calls and Armin feels the hold on his hand tighten, “Are you still able to see more?”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“Is there… going to be someone with me,” he whispers and the other barely caught it, “During those times?”

It’s a vague question. But with the way Jean spoke with a hushed voice laced with desperation, Armin knew exactly what it was that he meant. 

So Armin closes his eyes and takes hold of Jean’s hands again.    
  


There are glimpses. 

A figure next to the King on more than one occasion. They sit next to him, stand next to him, wait for him in his castle. The King wraps them in his arms in a warm embrace. Holds their face close, tucks their golden hair behind their ear, traces their lips with his hands. 

It’s an intimate gesture and Armin feels like he’s intruding in a private manner. He sees everything through Jean’s perspective and so it feels rather strange. He feels the warmth and sincerity in the touches shown in the glimpses. 

At the last glimpse, the King holds a pair of familiar hands.   
  


“There is,” the clairvoyant whispers, his eyes barely open and his skin tingles with the warmth of the glimpses of the future. “Someone by your side. They’ll hold you and you’ll hold them all in your struggling times. Even in celebrations of victory or tears of momentary failure, they’ll hold your hand.”

When his eyes finally open, they’re downcast and the first thing he sees are their intertwined hands. 

“Did you see who it was?”

“No,”

“No? Then how did you know there was someone?”

“I felt them. Their presence,” he retracts his hand from under Jean’s.

“You really didn’t see them? Not even a glimpse of anything that can help recognize them?” there it is again, that desperation. It’s like a plea for someone, for Armin. A plea for not wanting to be  _ alone _ . 

“What would you do if you found out who it was?”

Jean stared at him and that intense look was back. The one he gave earlier, the one that made him look like he can take control. But it almost felt like he wanted to make sure he can take control, “Hold them. Have them with me as soon as I know who they are. If what you say is true, that they’ll hold me even in failure, I’ll hold on to them,”

Somewhere in between those words, Armin caught himself entranced by his eyes. That gaze he tried not to be caught in earlier. Now, his mind is clouded. Something he tried not to be from earlier. His eyes and the warmth from the glimpses of the future, it’s all making a mess of the clairvoyant’s usually strong mind. 

He forces himself to look away. Only then did he realize that they were still holding on to each other’s hands. He slowly pulls back, watches at how Jean’s fingers seem to twitch at the loss of contact. Armin opts to hide his hands under the table, rubbing his thumb and his index finger together. He wants to reach back but that would be… strange. Let alone disrespectful. How can he just think about holding the King’s hand?

The shine from the moonlight disappears completely from the King’s face the same time silence envelops the room. 

It’s over. 

Armin stands, bows his head towards the King and makes a step towards the door. 

“How long?” the King mutters just loud enough for the clairvoyant to catch. “How long will I have to wait to hold them?”

“I don’t know,” Armin looks back to see the King with his back against him. His shoulders are slumped, hands still on top of the small table. “But… their eyes…”

Jean turns to him swiftly, his robe thrashed to the side to look at Armin.

“Their eyes were those of the ocean,”

The young King stops and stares at the clairvoyant. They hold their gazes for what felt like a long while until the doors slide open. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Armin,” Eren nudges him by the elbow as he and Mikasa escort the clairvoyant back to his room where he’ll stay for the night. It’s too late to have him go back to his home uphill. “What did you see back there?”

“Eren, he’s not allowed to say. You know that,” Mikasa tells him off and spares Armin a curious glance. 

“Well, whatever he saw, I bet it was disastrous,”

“What makes you say that?”

“Didn’t you hear? Jean actually  _ thanked  _ him,  _ verbally _ . He said it out loud. Have you ever heard him say the words ‘thank you’ before without sounding so mocking or without getting into your nerves?”

Mikasa gives it a thought. The previous prince did have a record of being rude. It’s hard to say if Jean has never really thanked anyone verbally but it’s safe to say that this might be the first time they’ve actually heard it. And it’s not towards them, his royal guards, the very people keeping him safe.

It’s towards Armin.

“I bet that whatever Armin saw, it’s enough to rattle him so bad he plans to be nice to everyone he’s been an ass to. Hah, as if that’s gonna save his ass from his future disaster,”

He gets a smack on the upside of his head by Mikasa, “Stop badmouthing him unless you want to be beheaded,”

“As if you’ll let that happen,”

“I just might,”

Eren looks mildly offended. 

Armin chuckles at his two friends as they argue in the middle of the garden bridge. Seeing them bicker under the soft moonlight surrounded by the tranquil atmosphere of the garden seems endearing in Armin’s eyes. 

He catches a glimpse of the bright moon and stops. It’s beautiful seeing it right in the open like this.  _ But having it’s light reflect through his eyes wasn’t so bad either _ , he thinks. And suddenly he’s reminded of the warmth of the glimpses of the future he saw. He can’t believe he was so overwhelmed by up until now that they’ve been apart. There’s just something so kind and so lonely about it. Armin doesn’t know why he wants to have a part of it. 

  
As he breaks away from his trance, he finds himself by the edge of the bridge. Right above the clear water sits the reflection of the moon. A single petal falls just right below him and he follows it’s way down, right on top of the unmoving water. And there he sees,  _ eyes that were those of the ocean. _

**Author's Note:**

> HI HELLO IVE BEEN OBSESSED WITH JEARMIN SINCE LAST WEEK (I watched s1-s3 and read the manga in a span of a week and continued to drown myself with more content the few days after so HAHAHA I HAVE NO REGRETS) also I learned that the very first day I got into Jearmin was the very last day of Jearmin Week so I was a bit sad about that bUT HEY HERE'S ALMOST 2K OF JEARMIN FLUFF????
> 
> THAT'S ALL HOPE U LIKE IT AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!! <33333


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